Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Just finished a new quilt that I had to share…it has special meaning for me because I made it for my Aunt. She has been there for me at every crossroads of my life and she is now fighting cancer. I felt so helpless when I found out. I live far away from her and my cousins, so I couldn’t even give them a hug!! So I got busy sewing. I wanted something that she could pass on to her granddaughter, so it needed to be happy and girly!!

Here is my new design in honor of my Aunt—the Lennon Jane Quilt…

Today is my Aunt’s birthday—go out and celebrate Auntie!! I love you so much, thanks for being there for me!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I had a custom order from my Etsy shop to create a purple balloon wreath for a special Purplicious Birthday Party!!

I used 12 inch balloons that were plain purple mixed with purple and white polka dot. I added white and purple corkscrew pipe cleaners to finish it up—and I love the way it turned out!! I am a bit partial since purple is my favorite color too!

Just finished making these ties for Justin and my Little Man—they are really easy to make!! I followed, mostly, the tutorial from here.

I had a request from a friend to start teaching sewing classes for boys. We had our first class already and I LOVED IT!!

I can’t believe it was just a year ago that I happened upon bartering sewing lessons for eggs from a friend—I have had so much fun teaching and watching kids feel the joy of creating something on their own!!

My tie class is this Saturday, March 15th, 2014 from 2:30-4:30pm, for $15

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Here’s the list of all my sewing classes being taught through May 2014.

Quilted Table Runner-Beginning Quilting Class:

This class if for beginners and will cover how to use a rotary cutter, strip piecing fabric, quilting with your sewing machine, and how to sew on a binding. The cost of this class is $65 and will be taught in two classes and includes table runner kit with fabric and pattern, and beginner's quilting folder with written instructions for all steps. (If you want to pick out your own fabrics, I can email you the amounts needed) This is the perfect beginning quilting project that you could easily replicate on your own and make as gifts for Mother’s Day, Christmas, or other holidays!!

This beginner bag is great for grabbing on the go—whether throwing in your gym clothes, or packing your groceries, or my daughter can use it for her ballet clothes—this stylish bag gives you luxury of choosing either fabric for the outside—depending on the day!! This class is $15.

This pattern has darts and a hidden zipper closure and is super fun to make. If you have used a sewing machine before or have taken one of my other classes, you can make this skirt!! The pattern is $10 and will be included in the class fee of $30—you will be able to use the pattern over and over as it will be yours to keep! SassyPants is the pattern designer for this Super Simple Skirt. Sizes included in the pattern are from waist 24-32”, and hips 34-42”

Saturday, April 5, 2014 9:00am-11:30am

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 7:00pm

Materials needed: 1 1/2 yards of main fabric, one 9 inch zipper.

Zippered Pleated Pouch

I can’t tell you how much I love these pouches!! Skip to My Lou has a free tutorial to make these here. These make the perfect gifts and are a great way to teach how to sew a zipper. This class is $15.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

I recently received an email from a mother who just received a diagnosis of Autism for her son. She told me she didn’t have any support from her family but was trying to stay hopeful and was working hard to begin new therapies. I also received a letter from a mother of two boys with Autism. She told me about their struggles and that one of her boys was struggling and lived in a residential facility. The struggles of raising children often come and go, but raising children with special needs can be extremely overwhelming.

Our intense struggles with Justin from earlier this year have subsided and we are calmly riding our roller coaster ride of Autism—and we are well!! I love my family and for 6 out of 7 days, my life is adjusted in a way that I think we are pretty normal!! We are happy!! We adjust our goals often and try to stay focused on the positive. So why is it only 6 out of 7?? There is one day a week that always makes me feel like our family is not normal—and that is on Sundays. It is the one day a week I feel a divide in our family. At this point, Justin drops to the floor when we go into church, refusing to move until he bolts to the cultural hall to run around and stare at the lights. My other two toddlers run after him, or the other direction and very quickly we start to unravel at the seams!! It is in these moments, where I am trying so hard to stay positive that a voice in my head frantically says, “This isn’t working, there is no place for your family here—this is not normal.” I share this not as a complaint against any of the wonderful people in our church family—it is just the one day a week that I feel like my testimony of my family and my testimony of attending church meetings don’t correlate!!

I recently shared my feelings about this with my sister-in-law after I had gone to a church Christmas party. My husband stayed home with 3 out of our 4 kids and I had a great time saying hello to my friends who are like family to me. But as I watched beautifully made videos of families together at Christmas enjoying traditions—all I could think of is how different it is for my family. I came home to my sweet family and was reminded how much I adore them—with all our differences. But the next day I had to vent to my sister-in-law about my insecurities. She said, “Shannon, you love your family and are happy. Don’t get caught up in wanting a cookie cutter family—this is how your cookie has been cut, and it is wonderful.” I started laughing because she was so right!!

As all of us adjust our cookie cutter dreams and expectations may we realize how truly blessed we are just to be children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. He loved us enough to send his only begotten Son to die for our sins so that we can live again with Him.

My favorite talk about clinging to hope is by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an Apostle in our Church. You may link to the whole talk here. He talks about faith and says:

When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle.

I love my family, and I love my life and the opportunities I have to see beauty and joy in the smallest triumphs!! Watching my kids overcome trials is such a strength to me of the great courage and faith we all can draw upon to keep enduring and pursue our goals of happiness. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! This picture is from 2 years ago—but it is one of my favorite pictures of my cookie cutter family!!

Hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend!! I am running a special discount on my PDF quilt patterns from my ETSY shop. Just enter promo code GIVING2014 for $1.00 off making them only $7.o0!! Click here for the link to my Etsy shop…

About Me

My sew sweet cottage is filled with 4 little kids who keep me busy. My oldest has Autism, and life can get a little crazy sometimes! I keep my sanity, or what's left of it, by spending time sewing, decorating, baking, throwing a party, and enjoying life's little moments. Contact me SewSweetCottage@yahoo.com